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Original poster

Moving with cats

15 replies

TC07 · 20/02/2019 23:29

Can you tell me how you moved with cats?

One cat is a homebody (and will come if you rattle some treats) the other cat comes in when she feels like it.

Due to move in the next month or two and I'm stressing about what to do with the cats. I'm thinking a day or 2 before hand locking the cat flap and ignoring their meows to go out. But what to do with them while the movers are moving. Lock them in a room which has been cleared or yet to be cleared then the same once we move?

I know we should keep them in for the first 3 weeks of a new home and that's going to be a challenge enough without confining them to one room for a whole day.

Anyone got any other ideas apart from what I'm thinking. Unfortunately we have no one who will be able to take them while we move.

OP posts:
MrsBertBibby · 20/02/2019 23:34

Book them into a cattery?

I had mine in a cat basket from before the movers arrived until I could put her in the bathroom at the new house (with pre made sign to remind everyone not to open the door). Then let her out once the movers had gone. She wasn't happy, but needs must.

Silvercatowner · 20/02/2019 23:35

Our two went to a cattery a couple of days before we moved. They both freaked out when we started packing properly and we were worried they'd run off. We don't use catteries usually but needed to then.

Original poster
TC07 · 20/02/2019 23:36

DH suggested that but I feel too guilty every time we have to use a cattery. Plus, I'm not sure we can afford the additional expense. I will look into it though

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NotMySquirrel · 20/02/2019 23:38

Cattery, definitely. Saw a post not too long ago by a woman who hadn't managed to get her cat in in time to move and ended up leaving it behind. Had to go back and try and find it but I don't recall reading a happy ending.

MrsBertBibby · 20/02/2019 23:38

Gallons of feliway, obvs.

wowfudge · 20/02/2019 23:38

Keep them in the day before moving day. Take them to a cattery or a friend's house where they can be confined to a room with their familiar toys, beds, food bowls and litter trays. Collect them once you've moved in to the new place and keep them in for at least a couple of weeks. Get a Feliway plug in to help them stay calm in their new environment.

Last time I was at the vet's there was a woman there who had spent a week trying to catch her cat who had run off on moving day. She caught the cat in the end and was having the vet check her over after a week living rough.

llangennith · 20/02/2019 23:47

Put them in the car box the day you move. Let them out at new house once removal men have gone. I've always done that and never lost a cat yet.

Original poster
TC07 · 20/02/2019 23:48

Might just suck it up and use a cattery. Last time I did I was newly pregnant and cried all the way there incase they thought we abandoned them (in typical cat nature they didn't give a shit)

Due to the positioning of the house and garden I don't think coming back and catching them other day will be possible (unless I can climb over everyone's garden). Or perhaps I can ask the new owners to catch them for me lol

OP posts:
Original poster
TC07 · 20/02/2019 23:48

@llangennith what's a car box?

OP posts:
llangennith · 20/02/2019 23:50

😂 CAT box. Carrier.

Original poster
TC07 · 20/02/2019 23:53

@llangennith damn! I thought you was on to something for a moment 😂

OP posts:
Catalicious · 20/02/2019 23:53

I've moved a lot and couldn't put them in a cattery for the same reasons you give! I keep one room clear, and after breakfast put them in this room with their things. Then I move them to the new house first, and again set them up in a room by themselves with their things. I try and minimise how many new spaces they have to get used to! And feliway helps. It is stressful for them, but they also recover :-)

ThatLibraryMiss · 20/02/2019 23:56

Another vote for a few days in a cattery or at a friend's. You'll be too busy moving to cry about them, and you'll have enough to think about without worrying about whether someone's opened the door of the room you shut them in.

When you get them back, shut them in a room for a while but go and sit in there when you can. After a couple of days, open the room door and let them explore the new house at their own pace. Make sure they can get back to the room they know, and that they're safe there.

SpaceCadet4000 · 21/02/2019 00:43

We shut ours in the bathroom of our old place whilst we emptied it out and took the cats out last. In the new place, I set up the bathroom with food, water and the litter tray and let them out in there for about an hour to adjust before opening the door for them to explore.

One cat was straight out exploring. The other was terrified and refused to get out of the litter box, which I guess smelled familiar. Eventually, I coaxed him out with a toy, but he was shaking all over and clung to me for a few days.

monicastwinsister · 21/02/2019 08:06

well be using a cattery. its run by a cat lover so i know theyll be safe and well cared for.

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